Make Better Wedding Films

Loneliness and isolation are sometimes unfortunate byproducts of the freedom our career choice brings, so often heightened by an illusion of community on social media. So on today’s show, I’m doing something different. I’m combining three seperate interviews with Lunar Red Films, Omega Weddings and Joe Torres, in the hopes that I can highlight some part of our collective experience. 

Full Interviews linked below

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Process, organisation, workflows and systems… the boring, mundane parts of our work, right? Wrong! On today’s show I’m talking with Brady Huf from Wedding Post House about how systematic approaches to the creative process can not only make us more efficient but also free up mental space to allow us to thrive in our business and avoid burning out.

Want to try Wedding Post House out yourself? Use the code MBWF15 to get 15 percent off! https://weddingposthouse.com/

Who is your ideal client? When I ask that of wedding filmmakers, the answer I often get it “people in love” and I think here in lies an underlying issue that is holding a lot of filmmakers back from growing a business that they love, which a lack of clarity. 

On today’s show I’m sitting down with Jared Sullivan from Wayward North Films to talk through the importance of finding clarity in your brand and your filmmaking style and why this is a crucial component to creating a sustainable business.

If you haven't already you NEED to subscribe to Wayward North on YouTube, he's doing awesome stuff over there: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5rR0BFgdu-oz7HDHb-f-uw

Also make sure to check out his podcast too: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-films-we-make/id1664967619

On today's episode I'm speaking with Artem Korchagin on all things cinematography. I've been sent Artem's work multiple times in my DMs and it's no surprise why. His work is both fresh and timeless and he shared so many insights for wedding filmmakers looking to level up their cinematography.

Entering the luxury market is both an elusive and enticing goal for many filmmakers, but the road to get there involves unlearning a lot of what we’ve known to be true in our careers so far. On today’s show, Taylor and Kelly from the Level Up Co are popping the hood on the luxury wedding film market and sharing their secrets on how to build the business of your dreams.

Liked this episde? Then jump into Taylor & Kelly's 3 day workshop, it's on now but there is still time to catch up on the replay of day one before day two kicks off in a few hours! 👇👇👇👇👇👇

The Road to Luxury - free workshop happening June 5-7 (in the US) 

2023 as seen a flood of interest around the advancements and capabilities of A.I. technology, and things seem to be changing by the day. In fact, mere hours after this interview was recorded, news dropped about a Premiere Pro plugin that could do some of the things we were speculating about in this discussion.

On today’s show Narrative CEO and founder James Broadbent and I sit down to discuss the potential future of A.I.s role in video editing, we talk about how these software’s and machine learning models are made, the difference between predictive and generative A.I.s and about the very nature of creativity and creative authorship itself. 

The longer you’re in this line of work, the business of capturing people and moments on camera, the more you realise that the craft is more in the people than in the camera.

Connecting with, empathising with and falling in love with your subjects is the only way to truly make work that resonates and stands the test of time.

On today’s show, I’m sitting down with Andrea and Eugene from The Drakes to hear how they obsess over the process of connecting with their couples and how this allows them to create the unique and award winning films they are known for.

As Annie Leibovitz puts it “A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people.” 

https://www.wearethedrakes.com/

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The more we develop our careers, our techniques, our craft, it’s easy to focus on flashy visuals and cinematography and loose sight of the real reason people are willing to spend their hard earned money on a wedding film.

On today’s show, Riccardo Fasoli shares his wisdom on creative expression, staying authentic to ourselves and reminds us of an important perspective that is all too often forgotten. What if it was your wedding? What would you want to see?

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Want to see Riccardo Fasoli in the flesh? As of the release of this podcast you've got just a few more days to grab a ticket for Lonely Hearts Film Camp!!!! Don't miss out on the chance to hear from, hang out with and learn from the best in the biz! 

Last 5 tickets available here:  https://www.lonelyheartsfilmcamp.co/

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Another year, another season of the MBWF podcast! This year I’ve got the Aussie duo we all know and love @bottlebrush films joining me back on the airwaves on a regular basis and we’re kicking off the year with a bit of reflection, some predictions and some hopes for what wedding films might look like in 2023 and beyond.

List of filmmakers mentioned in today's show: Henry Martens, House on the Clouds, Unique Wedding, Artem Korchagin, Jackson Grant, Films by Madeline, Kreativ Wedding

✨ Lonely Hearts Film Camp ✨

As 2022 comes to a close, we come to the end of another season of the show. Last year I ended with Bottlebrush, and this year I’m ending Season 3 with another pair of Aussie legends, “Lovers + Legends” to be precise! Steph & Elliot are a husband + wife, photo + video duo from Brisbane Australia who have an amazing energy to their films and who balance the roles of photo + video creation seamlessly.

On today’s show, we round off 2022 by talking about arguably the most important thing for a wedding filmmaker to remember, it’s not about you, it’s about them.

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Polished, elegant and consistent are words I would use to describe the work of Deanna and Grant aka Harrison Films and today’s episode is an absolute masterclass in what it takes to create a high end product. Attention to detail is key and in my discussion with them I was blown away at just how much care and thought goes into every step of the process. From location scouting, to colour grading they put in the extra step of effort and care that takes their work from good to great and it’s a philosophy that I feel is the foundation of their success.

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If you're interested in learning more from Harrison Films, make sure to check out their private mentoring sessions including their "Color Mastery" series and "Brand Refining" series: https://www.harrisonweddingfilms.com/wedding-filmmaking-education

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The film look is something digital filmmakers have been trying to emulate for years and back in 2012, a small company in New Zealand set out to achieve that goal. A decade later, Filmconvert is the arguably the most accurate and sophisticated film emulation software on the market. On Today’s show I’m sitting down with Filmconvert’s Henessey Griffiths to discuss the science and the magic of digital film emulation as we take the guess work out of colour grading.

For the first time in a LONG time, I'm sitting across the table, in the flesh with today's guests; Jesse Peters from Jesse & Jessie and Zac from Flatroc Films. On today's show, my fellow kiwis and I are cracking a beer and looking back at the crazy season that was and what we can learn from the situations we found ourselves in. We talk about burn out, parent life, work life balance, back end systems and quitting your day job to go full time on weddings.

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Sometimes, the thing that starts out as helpful support, can turn into overwhelming noise… Echo chambers, unhelpful advice and toxic opinions can start to weigh on our confidence as creatives and as business owners. On today’s show, I’m sitting down with Kaleb and Elaine from KEJ productions to hear their perspective on when to listen, when to stand up for yourself and when to block out the noise.

Check out Kaleb and Elaine's Audio Course and get $75 off with the code "MBWF" http://www.kejaudiomasterclass.com/ 

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“Sound is half your story” is a mantra that I think I’ll always bring up on the podcast, I think it’s something as filmmakers we can keep coming back to and exploring, experimenting and educating ourselves in. On today’s show, I’m talking with Boomer and Sarah from Multiply Media about the marriage between music and sound design, how to tell stories with music, how to evoke memories with sound and how to manipulate the various elements of our audio in order to have each piece shine through.

How you open your film, sets the stage for the viewers experience as a whole. It’s a chance to put the most important elements to the couple front and centre, to make them feel like this film was made for them and no-one else. On today’s show, I’m talking with Andrea and Aaron from By The Millers about how they developed their storytelling style, how they make each film unique to their couples and why the first 30 seconds are so valuable to your film.

Make sure to subscribe to Aaron's YouTube channel to keep up to date with their educational content: https://www.youtube.com/c/AaronMillerMedia 

And obviously follow @bythemillers on IG

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Husband and Wife duo The Augusts are a photo + video powerhouse who started their business at the start of the pandemic. On todays show, I’m chatting with them about their uniquely elegant and emotive filmmaking style and how they have developed a synergistic workflow together that allows Rebekah to capture photos and Jonah to capture video, each in the best way possible.

Make sure to follow them on IG: https://www.instagram.com/theaugusts__

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Music is as much a part of our films as the footage and audio we capture on the day, but the skill of curating, pairing and manipulating music is often one that’s overlooked. On today’s show, I’m sitting down wth DJ and musician Thomas Rose to discuss some of the techniques videographers can use to level up the way we use music in our films.

Make sure to follo

Story is at the root of what we do as wedding filmmakers, we all call ourselves storytellers but how often to we consciously work on developing that specific skill? How well do you understand the anatomy of a story? On today’s show, I’m joined by McLean from Hello Tomorrow Films to discuss what goes in to a compelling story in a wedding film. If traditional filmmaking has taught us anything it’s that conflict is at the centre of the most compelling stories, but conflict often isn’t welcome on a wedding day, so as filmmakers we need to learn to harness a different type of tension in order to take our films from mundane montages into nuanced narratives.

If you enjoyed today's show and you want to take your wedding film storytelling to the next level, then you should check out "The Story" which is Hello Tomorrow's new course on all things storytelling. Check it out here: https://education.hellotomorrow.ca/a/2147514065/LQCuCiMr

And make sure to use the code "MBWF" for 15% off the course 🙌

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Chris Mai aka Good Co Studios, is a master of capturing intimate and immediate footage of his couples together. He’s also an educator and through mentorships and 1on1 workshops helps wedding filmmakers create a stronger connection with their couples and become more confident with their camera and their storytelling. On today’s show, I get Chris to run me through one of his full day workshops and break down some of the lessons he imparts to his students.

If you'd like to know more about Chris's 1-on-1 mentorships sessions then you can DM him on Insta or find out more on his website here: https://goodcostudios.com/mentorship

I'll also be opening up a few of my own mentorship spots over the coming few weeks so stay tuned for more info on those if you're interested!

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Filming with your intuition is something we’ve talked about before on the show. The honesty that can come through in your work when you are NOT trying to do a bunch of flashy transitions, or trying to be someone that you’re not, makes for films that showcase the real emotions of the people on screen and they are films that stand the test of time. When you trust your gut and put the needs of your couples at the core of your filmmaking process, magic can happen.

Make sure to check out Madeleine's work on IG if you don't follow her already! https://www.instagram.com/filmsbymadeleine/

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$100,000 per year is a goal that for a lot of people starting their business seems unattainable. On today’s show, David from Forestry films breaks down some of the ways we can shift our mindset towards solving people’s problems and that this is the key to growing a successful and profitable business.

If you would like a step-by-step road map from David on how you can take your business to the next level then you should check out his course "The Profitable Filmmaker" available for just a few more days! Use the promo code MBWF to get a further 10% off! https://www.theactof.co/the-profitable-filmmaker 

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All of us have the part of a filmmaking process that we like more than others, it’s probably the reason we fell in love with this craft. Whether it’s filming, editing, directing, the cool gear… there’s always something that’s more “fun” than other parts of our job, like figuring out how to run a business or learning about audio. On today’s show, Matt sits down with me to discuss some of the most common shortcomings he finds when looking at other filmmakers work from around the world and why he thinks certain things keep coming up again and again. It turns out, that if we want to grow, we have to just eat our vegetables.

Planning a wedding is stressful enough, but for couples in the LGBTQ+ community, there’s a whole other layer of fear and anxiety that can be part of the process when they start contacting vendors about their special day. As wedding vendors, if we want to be a supportive and safe business for these couples then we need to look with a critical eye at the gendered and patriarchal history of wedding traditions and how that still lingers in our language today.

When you see a high heel shoe with a red sole, you know it’s a Louboutin, or at least a knock off pretending to be a Louboutin. This is an example of a brand signature, something that when people see it, the brand instantly comes to mind. Sharrone from Fiore Films is very, very aware of the power that a brand signature can have and that is why whenever you see a wedding film that is entirely shot on tripod, you know it’s Fiore Films.

NOTE: My microphone disconnected immediately after jumping on this call so I apologise for my audio quality! Thankfully Dylan does most of the talking and I've started using a new recording method moving forward to hopefully avoid these technical mishaps in the future! Thanks and enjoy the show.

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Dylan Kitchener’s extremely cinematic and intimate portraits of couples are an inspiration to many. His masterful understanding of light and composition are a wonder to behold, but it’s how he directs his couples and makes them comfortable in front of his camera that seems to catch the attention and envy of wedding filmmakers around the world. 

On today’s show, Dylan breaks down his process for planning, directing and capturing intimate stories of two people in love.

Want to learn more from Dylan? Check out the education page on The Kitcheners website for more info: https://thekitcheners.co.uk/education 

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Huge thanks to our sponsors!

Ivan & Angela of the Unique Wedding are different to most wedding filmmakers. For them, filming the wedding is an extra. What they really offer is a multi-day experience for couples to create an incredible memory in and around their wedding day. 

This may or may not be a direction you want to take in your career as a wedding filmmaker but what I do hope you take away from today’s episode is an understanding of the fruit of their labour.

By putting in the time that others don’t, Ivan and Angela are able to capture footage of their couples that is more intimate, more creative and more unique than just about any other wedding filmmaker out there.

Make sure to check out their work on their website: https://www.theuniquewedding.com/ 

and follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uniquewedding/

Grace and Andrew have built an impressive audience of 120 thousand followers on Bottlebrush’s TikTok by showcasing their films and their personality, resulting in real enquires through their website. With over 1 billion monthly users now using TikTok we thought it was about time to do a deep dive on the platform, address some common concerns among videographers and talk through some ideas for how you can start using it to build your brand and get you more bookings.

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Cinematic LUTs Volume One - OUT NOW

Sometimes someone creates something so fresh and out of the box that people can’t help but stop and take notice. Today, Andrew and I are sitting down with wedding photographer David Le, who created a Wes Anderson inspired, stop motion masterpiece of a film that was nominated for Junebug's best wedding film 2021.

However, the catch here is that it was so time consuming and difficult to create, that he will never make anything like it again. And so today’s show is about trying new things, learning, being creative, failing and ultimately finding small nuggets of gold amongst piles of shit.

Follow David on IG here: https://www.instagram.com/davidle_nz

Watch Tina & Kris' Film here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CT52AL4pRqQ/

Cinematic LUTs Volume One - OUT NOW

We’ve talked a bit about being an empathetic filmmaker on this podcast before and today’s guest is yet another example of why this skill is a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to making truly unique and standout work. Being able to connect with your couples first and foremost and make a film that’s for them, not for you or your ego as a creative, but for them is what results in art that has substance behind it.

Monika’s work is beautiful, raw, delicate and timeless. She’s one of those creatives who is clearly comfortable with their tool, comfortable with the “rules” of filmmaking and confident about breaking them in the best way possible.

Malcolm Gladwell describes his famous “10,000 hours” heuristic as a symbol for the fact that the time needed to develop an innate understanding for a particular skill is most likely longer than any of us anticipate at the outset.

On today’s episode I’m joined by the incredibly talented Gione da Silva, who shares basically a whole two day workshop worth of content on lighting, composition, posing and editing into this hour and a half long episode.

There are no quick fixes when it comes to being an amazing filmmaker, you do have to put in the hours, but I hope that today’s episode shows you that the secret to making those hours count is to be intentional with everything you do and know that there is always more to learn.